The Final Goodbye
by KelsieLorraine
Summary: Last night's episode was traumatizing, next weeks will be worse. I needed to get my feelings out some how. This is a Jeremy and Elena one shot based on next weeks episode 'Stand by Me.'


**Valentine's Day will forever be remembered as the day Julie Plec killed Jeremy Gilbert, and in one of the most gruesome ways might I add.**

**Rest in Peace little Gilbert**

"**It's been a long day  
And all I've gotta say is make it strong  
It's been a long day  
And all I've gotta say is I've been wrong  
So take a leave of absence  
Tell me you'll be gone  
I don't wanna see your face  
It's been a long day  
And I just wanna hide away"**

"_You think she is ready?" the woman asked staring down at the tiny blue bundle in her arms. She couldn't control the smile that graced her lips as she stared at the little boy asleep in her arms._

"_I think she's more than ready," the man laughed. "She's been 'preparing' his room for him, talking about how she has to make it safe for him."_

"_That sounds like her," the woman laughed, causing the baby to stir slightly before settling down. "Call Jenna, ask her to bring her over."_

_Shortly after the couple concluded their conversation, a light knock sounded at the door. "Momma!" a little voice called. Grayson opened the door, revealing Jenna and Elena "Da!" She squealed reaching out for him._

"_Hello, princess," he whispered. "Are you ready to meet your brother?" The young girl nodded and peered over at her mother. Grayson carried her over to the bed and set her down on the side, close to her mother._

"_Elena, meet your brother Jeremy," her mother said._

"She won't say anything except she is waiting for him to wake up," Elena heard Stefan say down stairs. She paid no attention to it though; instead she stayed there, gripping her brother's hand.

"What are we going to do?" Caroline's voice sounded slightly panicked, but her face remained calm.

"What can we do?" Stefan countered. "Denial is the only thing that is keeping her from letting it all in. I really don't know what to do. Once she lets it all in, it's going to crush her more than it already has."

"Do you think that she will flip her switch?" Caroline whispered, causing Elena to role her eyes. It was a tempting thought, and Elena would be lying if she said that she hadn't been thinking about it, since the moment she saw her brother's bloody and broken body on the ground, but she refused to give up on her brother. He would wake up. She knew it.

"_Come out, come out, wherever you are?" Jenna called tiptoeing up the stairs looking for Jeremy and Elena._

_The pair, now 6 and 4, was hidden under their parent's bed. Their giggles grew when Jenna pushed open the door to their parent's room._

"_Shh, Jer, she'll hear us," Elena whispered._

"_Sorry, 'Lena," he giggled. Elena's small hand covered Jeremy's mouth, silencing the giggles._

"_Guess they are down stairs," Jenna said loudly. As soon as they heard the door close, they started laughing hard. Jenna stood outside the door smiling at their laughter._

"Elena," Meredith called, walking into Jeremy's room. Elena was sitting on the edge of his bed, holding his hand and watching him, like he would wake up any moment. She didn't even bother to respond to Meredith or look up when she walked into the room.

Meredith's heart broke at the image she was seeing. Whether Elena noticed or not, Jeremy's color was fading. Everyone had a tiny bit of hope that Jeremy would come back, but from the look, he was long gone. He was pale, there were bruises on his neck, he was gone. He wasn't the kid she knew.

"Elena, look at me please," Meredith whispered. Elena stood up slowly and turned toward Meredith. She was shaking slightly, she looked like she was about to break. "Honey, Jeremy is dead. You need to let me take the body." Before Meredith knew what hit her, Elena had her slammed against the wall.

"He's not dead!" She screamed. "He is NOT dead, so don't you dare say he is." Stefan pulled Elena away, but that didn't stop her struggling. "We need Bonnie! Find me Bonnie! She will make this better, she can help! What are you waiting for! Go! GO!" Elena crumpled on the floor. "Find me Bonnie," she whispered. "She will make it better, she will."

"_Can I be the first to sign your cast?" Elena asked looking at her brother. An hour earlier he broke his arm diving off the dock at their lake house. Miranda and Grayson were talking to the doctor while eleven year old Elena sat with nine year old Jeremy._

"_Watcha gonna give me for that privilege?" Jeremy said._

"_Privilege?" Elena questioned looking at her brother._

"_Yeah, you want to be the first to sign it, I want to know what you would do for it."_

"_Seriously? I'm your sister."_

"_So?"_

"_Fine, I won't tell anyone how you cried like a baby the entire way here."_

_Jeremy glared at his sister before giving in. "Fine! You win!"_

"_As always," Elena joked._

**It's been a long week  
And all the lines come down heavy on me  
It's been a long week  
I'm finally feeling like it's ok to break  
Into a thousand pieced  
No one can replace  
Only I can find my way  
It's been a long day  
And I just wanna hide away**

She was holding a picture of them, studying it. In the picture Elena was sixteen, Jeremy was fourteen. They were at one of the ridiculous events the town throws. It was right before their parents died. _"It's one of my favorite pictures of the two of you"_ her mother said as she put the picture in the frame.

Meredith took Jeremy's body an hour ago. Shortly after, Elena kicked everyone out of the house. She didn't want to see anyone, she wanted them as far away as they could possible get, but they didn't go very far. She could hear Matt and Caroline on the porch swing; she could hear Stefan and Damon talking about her. She wasn't sure where Bonnie was, but she didn't care.

The picture dropped to the floor shattering. The last of her family was gone, so what was the point anymore? Elena dropped to her knees in acceptance. She was drowning in her tears. It was her fault, she knew that.

Her parents were in that car, on that bridge, that night because of _her._ Jenna was sacrificed because of _her_. John died to save _her_. Alaric wanted to walk away, but _she_ pulled him back in. His life was directly tied to hers. He died because of _her_. Isobel died in front of her, a loose end Klaus wanted taken care of she supposed. Why was she looking for Klaus? Because of _her_. Jeremy was on that island, because of _her._ He embraced his destiny to save _her_ from the hallucinations. He completed his mark because of a dangerously stupid idea_ she_ had. He was trying to get the cure for _her_. _She_ couldn't protect him.

Everything hurt and she couldn't stand it. She needed to stop the pain, she couldn't handle it. Quietly, she slipped out the back door and disappeared into the night.

_Elena's eyes fluttered open before snapping shut again. It was too bright, why was it so bright? And what the hell was that beeping sound? Once again Elena opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was in the hospital._

_The first thing she noticed was Jeremy asleep in a chair in the corner. Nothing else mattered, all she wanted were answers. She slipped out of bed and walked over to her sleeping brother. "Jer?" she whispered shaking him slightly._

_His eyes snapped open and met hers. She could see pain and relief in them among other things. "Jeremy, what's going on? Why are you here? Why am I here?"_

"_You were in a car accident Elena," Jeremy said standing up slowly. "You almost drowned." The memory was fuzzy, but Elena could remember it. She remembered how things slowed down as the car went over the bridge, she remembered how cold the water was, she remembered everything except…_

"_Where are mom and dad?" _

_Jeremy took a deep breath before answering. "They didn't make it…"_

_She knew what was coming next, she was expecting the impact of the floor as she turned around and dropped, but it never came. Jeremy wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried._

"_No, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening, they can't be dead!" She cried._

"_They are 'Lena…they're gone…"_

"She's out of her mind, Stefan, you have to do something!" Damon hissed.

"Me? She doesn't want me, Damon, and she sure as hell won't listen. She'll listen to you!"

"No, she won't," Damon whispered. "I'm not enough this time."

"What are y'all doing out here?" Bonnie asked walking up.

"Elena kicked us out shortly after Meredith took Jeremy's body," Stefan explained. "We are just kind of waiting."

"I'm gonna try to talk to her," Bonnie said, walking past them. Damon stopped her.

"I don't think-"

"Look, I realize you both love her and want to help her and that is all fine and dandy, but you don't even know her. You don't know the Elena Gilbert that I grew up with, that I know. You weren't there when her parents died. You may have seen it from a distance," she snapped looking at Stefan "but you weren't close enough the see that pain that came with every tear. She didn't smile for months after their death. I was there, every day, so whether you like it or not, I am going to talk to her." Bonnie jerked away and headed into the house.

Immediately, she knew something was right. The broken glass, the eerie silence, she knew straightaway that Elena wasn't there. Following her lead, Bonnie slipped out the back door.

**It's been a long year  
And everyone around me is disappearing  
It's been a long year  
And all this mess around me is finally clear  
So can I have a moment  
Just to say hello  
Can u let your anger go  
It's been a long year  
And I'm finally ready to be here**

"_Every holiday, we came here. This place was family. And when mom and dad died, Jenna made us come here and we thought it was an awful idea, but it was like they were here with us. They would have wanted us to stick together, Jer, to fight for each other, no matter what."_

Elena stood in the middle of Wickery Bridge, the bridge that changed her life so drastically a year and a half ago. There was blood on her hand. She laughed at the irony of her being a baby vampire and being able to take on a vampire so much older than her and win.

Katherine had it coming and has for a long time. When she was first in Mystic Falls, Elena didn't have a chance as a human, but now…she still didn't really have a chance, she was running on adrenaline. She used the element of surprise and just launched herself at her.

They say revenge is sweet, but Elena felt no satisfaction. All she felt was pain: mind-numbing, excruciating pain. She wanted to turn it off, to make it stop. She needed to.

"Elena?" Bonnie called. "What are you doing?"

"I can't do this Bonnie," she whispered turning around.

"Can't do what?" Bonnie asked.

"Live."

"Elena, you're upset, it's understandable, but we can talk about this."

"No, we can't. I'm done, Bonnie. I'm done with the vampires and the hybrids and the death. I'm just done. I've watched everyone I love be pulled away and it's all because of me! It's my fault and don't you dare say it isn't, because the people that you love have been injured or killed because of me. I am the reason for everything!"

"No, you aren't, Elena! We do things to help you because we love you. People get hurt for the ones they love, no one blames you!"

"I blame me. I always will. I can't live like this. A vampire that has lost everyone."

"What about the cure? We can find it! And take it from Katherine. It will be hard, but hell, we take on originals every day."

"It won't be that hard, considering I killed Katherine an hour ago." Whatever Bonnie was going to say next died in the throat as she stared at Elena's bloody hand.

"By yourself?" Bonnie whispered.

"Rage is a powerful thing."

"You can take the cure Elena, you deserve it."

"I don't. Someone else does though, and they should get it. Even if I took the cure what would I get? A human life that no longer exists with people that are no longer here? I'm done Bonnie."

"Elena-"

"Please! Just let me go. This is what I want...to be free." Bonnie knew there was nothing she could do to change her mind. She knew her friend had given up.

"I won't leave your side." Elena smiled hugging her. "I love you, Elena Gilbert. You always have and always will be my best friend."

"I love you, too, Bonnie Bennett, I will always be here for you, even after death." Slowly, Elena slipped off her daylight ring and handed it to Bonnie. "Give this to Damon for me. Tell him I love him and I am sorry. Tell Stefan I am sorry I hurt him and Caroline and Matt I am sorry for dragging them into this war. Tell them all I love them and that they need to leave Mystic Falls, go somewhere, start over, and be happy." Tears were falling freely from Bonnie's face. Not being able to form words, she simple nodded her head.

"Goodbye, Bonnie," Elena whispered.

"Goodbye, Elena," Bonnie sobbed. Elena squeezed her hand before turning around and smiling. She could see them. Her parents, her brother, her aunt, her birth parents, her step-father/history teacher…

Miranda…

Grayson…

Jeremy…

Jenna…

John…

Isobel…

Alaric…

They were waiting for her. She began walking to them, a smile on her face and no pain in her heart. The sun began to rise.

"_Stop. You're hurting Elena. Everything you're doing to her is hurting Elena."_

"_This is my ring, Elena's my sister. No one's gonna fight harder for her than me."_

"_You forget that Alaric never wanted any of this. Once he carries out his plans, what if he decides he doesn't want to live anymore and he kills his human connection to end his life? That would mean I would lose you. I'm not gonna let that happen."_

"_I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry that you've lost so many people…" "I still have you."_

"_You don't have to hide it, I know you won't hurt me"_

"_My brother is the only thing that is keeping me together…if anything happens to him…"_

"_I just wanted to hear your voice…"_

"_I miss you…"_

"_Yeah, yeah I miss you too…"_

"_I'm sorry. I know what I have to do, Elena. I really want to get that cure for you, but... I just - I don't know how I'm gonna do this"_

As the sun filled the sky, Elena Gilbert disappeared.

**Next week's episode is going to hurt like a bitch. Be prepared.**

**Twitter:KelsieLorraine**

**Tumblr:ShatteredxDestiny**


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